CIVIL RIGHTS HERO CALLS FOR EMERGENCY
NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION
Just Awarded Harvard’s Highest Education Honor, James Meredith Challenges Parents and Teachers to Demand Answers to 21 Questions and Take Back Control of Public Schools
Upcoming 50Th Anniversary Tie-In: August 18, 2013
On the 50th anniversary of his historic graduation from the University of Mississippi on August 18, 1963, civil rights hero James Meredith says “America’s public schools are being hijacked and destroyed by greed, fraud and lies,” and is calling for an emergency National Dialogue on the Future of American Education.
Meredith is challenging parents, teachers and community leaders and elders to take back control of America’s public schools and to demand answers and evidence from politicians and education officials on 21 questions on the future of American public education. “If politicians and bureaucrats refuse to fully answer these critical questions about our children’s future,” he adds, “then we should withhold our votes and support from them until they do.”
Meredith, the 2013 winner of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education’s Medal for Educational Impact, the school’s highest honor, says “the lives of our children and the future of our nation is at stake.”
“The civil rights issue of our time is to stop unproven co-called education reforms from totally destroying our children’s public education,” says Meredith, “and to get parents, teachers, community leaders and elders, the whole ‘Family of God,’ to take back control of our children’s education from politicians, bureaucrats and for-profits, who have turned our public schools into pawns in a game of money and power.”
He adds, “It is time we as citizens arm ourselves with the best evidence and information and take back control of our schools.”
Meredith urges Americans to join a national discussion on public K-8 education on his website: https://www.facebook.com/jamesmeredithusa
Meredith recently published his critically-hailed memoir, A MISSION FROM GOD: A MEMOIR AND CHALLENGE FOR AMERICA (Simon & Schuster), co-written with award-winning, New York Times bestselling author William Doyle.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Thank you, James Meredith, we need your valuable and respected voice to counter all the massive well funded “reform” propaganda that is uncritically accepted as gospel and given wisdom by so much of the media. The media have just been stenographers for the billionaire boys’ club propaganda mill.
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And Harvard University has been a gathering place for the club’s faux-intellectual apologists.
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It sure has.
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Read Meredith’s Facebook page. He has some good ideas, but he thinks the military style KIPP charter schools are great models and he doesn’t have a problem with TFA.
Not what I was expecting nor someone I would want as a leader, because I don’t see his movement as pushing back against neo-liberal market-based education “reforms.”
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PLEASE IGNORE MY POST ABOVE. I WAS WRONG. I’M VERY SORRY.
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Thanks for picking up on it. It looks like others had conflated the interviewer and interviewee, too.
I can’t imagine anybody who has less in common with temporizing and weaseling hired pundits. Here’s a brief account of my own experience with Mathews, when I tried to get him to disclose WaPo’s Kaplan business dealings with Michelle Rhee:
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2013/04/teacher_highlights_washington_.html
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Very powerful. Thank you for posting and thank you to James.
“The Whole Family of God”? Well, that would include everyone who believes these children have a soul, a special essence, gifts, potential and blessings that they will bestow upon this world, if we will just give them a chance. There is no chance for them to do any of it at present because we are so busy demoralizing and diminishing them with empty data points and “reformist” ponzi schemes.
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In an interview with Jay Matthews of the Washington Post, James Meredith said: “The KIPP schools are the reform model I know best. I covered this in detail in my book Work Hard. Be Nice. That is my best evidence for them and the several regular and charter public schools that use similar methods. It is all about picking great principals and giving them the power to lead.” and “I think we need to train our teachers better and pay them more. WE need to make teaching as prestigious as medicine or law. But I don’t agree with the sense of this question that programs like TFA are not a good idea. TFA shows that if you make a teaching program competitive and inspiring, you can get some of the best recent graduates from some of our best colleges. That is a good thing. I recognize that on average TFA teachers don’t [sic] do much better than teachers trained at ed schools, but there are a significant number, like the founders of KIPP, who do MUCH better, and would never have been lured into teaching if it had not been for TFA.” Oh geez Louise. Meredith is a mixed bag.
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Jay Mathews wrote Work Hard Be Nice.
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Thanks for pointing this out, Linda. Sorry for my error. That’s what I get for pulling an all nighter here. I’m an insomniac. I should try to sleep. My apologies.
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Linda, you are correct. All I can say is that the facebook page showed the quote I highlighted as being James Meredith’s. Very confusing, I will have to do a lot more homework. Sorry.
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“Oh geez Louise. Meredith is a mixed bag.”
Yes, exactly.
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This certainly merits attention, however, before jumping on the hope and glory bandwagon, so that you know exactly what Meredith supports, please go to his facebook page, click on the “See More” link on his July 23 post (top of left column) and read all of his 21 questions and the answers he provides, paying particular attention to his answers to questions #5 and #21: https://www.facebook.com/jamesmeredithusa
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PLEASE IGNORE MY POST ABOVE. I WAS WRONG. I’M VERY SORRY.
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OK, sorry, I got confused. It was Matthews who responded to those questions. We need to find out what Meredith believes. Anyone know where that info is?
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He is our enemy’s enemy, that does not make him our friend. His heart is in the right place, but he does not know much about education. KIPP and other such reforms will re-segregate minorities and lead to higher drop out and incarceration rates. The school to prison pipeline will reach full speed and be considered the norm.
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Sorry, my mistake. Jay Matthews answered, not Meredith. I’m trying to find out if there is a place where Meredith did answer his own questions but no luck so far.
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James Meredith is more than my “enemy’s enemy” to me. He’s a hero. He is welcome as a leader of any movement I’ll ever be in.
I remember his posture from grainy TV footage, and the angle of his head when he walked into a Public University and, with his own mind and strength, claimed it for all our people.
I read his biography last November, when I was hospitalized for a (frankly terrifying) surgery. Although he doesn’t say or think exactly what I would say, he gave me courage. Yes, he supports our mission, and a lot more. He’s shared both his strength and the vulnerability of human truthfulness across all our generational experiences.
So, read it. When you get some idea where his transformative visions came from, lets talk some more, about remembering and transcending the lessons from our own ancestors.
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Chemtchr, I agree with you, and I admit that my initial thoughts were a bit harsh. Thanks for the reminder of the heroic life Mr. Meredith has led. My disagreements with him are few. I should be more grateful for his support. To one and all, especially to Mr. Meredith, I submit my humble apoligies. We can be on the same side and have our differences. Thank you for reminding me of this.
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In the interview with Jay Matthews on Mr. Meredith’s Facebook page, he mentions the Montgomery County Maryland School District’s teacher evaluation system, also known as Moco PAR. Both Mr. Meredith and Mr. Matthews suggest that it could be a more effective model for evaluating teachers than VAM. Could anyone provide more details as to how Moco PAR works? Are there any online resources available that describe it in more detail?
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At least it would seem that Meredith is not mired in a particular philosophy. Perhaps someone can send him copies of Diane’s book, “The Death and Life…” and “Reign of Error” when it comes out.
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WASHINGTON POST BLOGGER AND EDUCATION COLUMNIST AND AUTHOR JAY MATTHEWS ANSWERS JAMES MEREDITH’S QUESTIONS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION:
1.) Children’s Rights: Do you believe that every child in the United States has the right to an excellent public education delivered by the most qualified professional teachers; an education aggressively supported by the family and the community, and an education based on the best research and evidence?
I do.
2.) Parent Responsibilities: Would you support the idea of public schools strongly encouraging and helping parents to: be directly involved in their children’s education; support their children with healthy eating and daily physical activity; disconnect their children from TV and video games; and read books to and with them on a daily basis from birth through childhood?
I do support that idea, but I strongly reject the notion, believed by many, that if the parents do not fulfill their responsibilities then the schools cannot be blamed for bad results. Great school can take the place of parents in major ways, and instill not only learning, but great character.
3.) Educational Equity: Do you believe that America should strive to deliver educational equity of resources to all students of all backgrounds and income groups?
yes, but in practice that means some kids–particularly low income kids—need more than other kids.
4.) Testing Reforms: Much of current education reform policy is built on the idea that the U.S. must catch up to nations that achieve high scores in the international PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) tests, like Finland, South Korea and Singapore. But since these nations rely on few if any of the reform strategies being promoted in the United States, like cyber-charters, frequent high-stakes standardized tests linked to teacher evaluation, teacher bonus pay, vouchers, and hiring teachers with no experience and no advanced degrees in education – – why would the U.S. implement these strategies without first field-testing them thoroughly?
I think it is useful to look at what high performing schools abroad do, and testing their methods here, but i don’t trust many of the international comparisons. I think they are exaggerated in some cases. We are best to go with what our best teachers think will work with their kids.
5.) Teacher Qualifications: If a critical factor in the success of the highest-performing education nations like Finland, South Korea and Singapore, and of high-performing American private and parochial schools, is a highly professionalized, highly experienced and highly respected teacher force, why is the United States pursuing policies to de-professionalize the public school teacher force, including sending recent college graduates into our highest-needs, highest-poverty schools with five weeks of training, no education degree and no experience? What is the hard evidence that such policies improve student outcomes, versus teachers with at least 2 to 5 years of experience and advanced degrees in education?
I think we need to train our teachers better and pay them more. WE need to make teaching as prestigious as medicine or law. But I don’t agree with the sense of this question that programs like TFA are not a good idea. TFA shows that if you make a teaching program competitive and inspiring, you can get some of the best recent graduates from some of our best colleges. That is a good thing. I recognize that on average TFA teachers dont do much better than teachers trained at ed schools, but there are a significant number, like the founders of KIPP, who do MUCH better, and would never have been lured into teaching if it had not been for TFA.
6.) Evidence for Classroom Products: What rigorous, independent evidence supports the use of computer products to deliver academic benefit to K-8 students as support to, or replacements for, flesh-and-blood teachers? Specifically, what computer products have such evidence of improving student outcomes, when fully tested versus classrooms without such products, and versus classrooms without such products but with more experienced teachers?
We have no such evidence.
7.) Taxpayer Spending on Products: Would you support requiring computer software and hardware companies to fund rigorous independent research to validate the delivery of academic benefit to K-8 students by their products, before billions of dollars of taxpayer money is spent on buying such products?
Yes. Great idea.
8.) Taxpayer Spending on Testing: According to one estimate, American taxpayers spend about $20,000,000,000 annually on standardized tests like multiple-choice “bubble tests” but many teachers and students are saying they are hijacking huge amounts of school time that should be used for authentic learning, and thereby seriously damaging our children’s education. What evidence is there that the money and time being spent on high-stakes standardized tests is improving student outcomes and delivering academic benefit to students?
We have had a modest uptick in achievement since NCLB. Standardized tests have their place. But many of the test prep methods are sterile and dumb. Testing is review. Review is part of any good learning experience. We dont want to throw out such tests, but it would be good to move more toward those that encourage critical thinking, like AP and IB tests.
9.) Dangers of Linking Standardized Testing to Teacher Evaluation: A number of experts assert that students standardized test data should not be linked to teacher pay or evaluation because the data can be highly unstable, volatile, misleading or invalid for such purposes and will incorrectly penalize teachers of both high-achieving and high-needs students; arguments presented, for example, on this fact sheet from the Center for Fair & Open Testing, or FairTest:
Click to access Teacher-Evaluation-FactSheet-10-12.pdf
What is your point of view on this – are these experts correct or incorrect?
I think it is much better to pick principals very carefully, give them the power to hire and fire, and let them decide how to assess and motivate their teachers, with the understanding that if achievement does not improve at their schools, they will lose their job as principal.
10.) Advantages for Students: If the children and grandchildren of people like President Obama and American politicians and business leaders enjoy the benefits of private schools with highly experienced teachers, small class sizes, frequent diagnostic testing and assessments designed by their teachers, rich and full curricula including the arts and physical activity, regular recess, and a minimum of high-stakes standardized tests, should we strive to give the same advantages to all public school students? If not, why not?
This is a bad argument. The private schools you speak of, including Sidwell where my daughter went, are no better on any of the measures you cite than public schools with a similar demographic. You have to stop reading the private schools’ publicity materials and actually see what is happening in those schools. They don’t have better ways of doing things. And are LESS likely to find better ways than public schools are because their parents are so wrapped up inthe big name of the school and not the quality of the teaching.
11.) Support for Children and Families: Would you support the ideas of school systems providing universal pre-K starting at 3; a strong early education based on research fundamentals and educational play, access to a librarian, nurse, social worker and mental health professional in the school; and a free, healthy breakfast and lunch if necessary?
yes.
12.) Firing Ineffective Teachers: The Montgomery County, Maryland school district evaluates, and when necessary, fires teachers, not through standardized test data but through an aggressive, professional peer review system. Some experts support the system as a more effective strategy for weeding out ineffective teachers, versus unreliable, unstable and volatile standardized test data. What do you think?
The Moco PAR system is excellent. I think it is the best way for such a large district.
13.) Teacher Qualifications: Do you believe the United States should sharply elevate the qualifications and experience of the teaching profession, and respect teachers as well as it respects other elite professions?
Yes.
14.) Classroom Environment: Do you believe that every child in the United States has the right to a classroom that is comfortable, exciting, happy and well-disciplined, with proper rest time, quiet time and play time; a rich, full curriculum, full physical education and recess periods, and an atmosphere of low chronic stress and high productive challenge, where young children are free to be children as they learn, and where all children are free to fail in the pursuit of success?
Yes, although I am not so keen on recess. It tends to be chaotic and unhelpful.
15.) Rigor, Accountability and No Excuses: Do you believe that every child in the United States has the right to a public school system that uses rigor, accountability, transparency and no excuses when it comes to education reform; where any major proposed education reforms or alternative educational products, technologies or experiments must be tested first, and based on hard evidence, independently verified, before being widely adopted and funded by taxpayers?
Yes. Although if you cant get the money for all of that pre testing, I would go with whatever smart and proven successful principals and teachers want to do.
16.) 21st Century Learning: Do you believe that every child in the United States has the right to a school and a nation where children and teachers are supported, cherished, challenged, and respected; and where teachers are left alone as much as possible by politicians and bureaucrats to do their job, which is to prepare children for college and career with true 21st century skills: not by drilling them to take high-stakes standardized tests, but by inspiring them, helping them fall in love with learning for the rest of their lives, setting them on fire with joy, fun, passion, diligence, critical thinking and collaboration, new discoveries and excitement, and having the highest academic expectations of them?
Yes.
17.) Failure of Attempted Education Reforms: This paper argues that recent attempted education reforms in New York, Chicago and Washington D.C. have not created education miracles, but have instead resulted in student under-performance:
Click to access bba-rhetoric-trumps-reality-executive-summary.pdf
What do you think of the paper and its findings?
I think it is too general an argument. You have to look at each school. Some have benefited from the reforms in those districts. Some have not. It is less about systems and more about recruitment and training and support of great teachers and principals. The DC charter schools, for instance, have many great examples of great leadership and great results, and they should be considered as part of the reforms in that district.
18.) Global Tests: American public schools score near the top of the international PISA tests, except for those schools with high concentrations of poor students. What do you think this means?
That’s easy. Family background is the most important factor in determining achievement. We need to do more to compensate for the drag of poverty.
19.) Teacher Bonus Pay: This Vanderbilt University study of teacher bonus pay, among the only rigorous tests of the subject, found little to no impact on student outcomes:
Click to access pointstudy.pdf
What do you think of the study? Do you think teachers should be paid bonuses, and if so, why?
Good study. I don’t like individual bonus systems of that sort. It kills the team spirit in a school. As I said above, get a great principal and let her decide how to motivate and compensate her teachers
20.) Lessons of the World’s #1 Public School System: The nation of Finland is cited as a model for education reform since its students perform in the top tier of the international PISA tests. An analysis by The Economist and Pearson recently ranked Finland’s school system as No. 1 in the world, ahead of all Asian nations and far ahead of the United States.
Finland requires all teachers to have a masters degree in education from extremely competitive schools that admit only the top 10% of academic applicants, stresses equity for all students, gives maximum autonomy and respect to teachers, gives students a rich, full curriculum including the arts, physical education and regular breaks through the school day, and strong special education and vocational training. Finland has very few standardized tests, no vouchers, no teacher bonus pay, limited use of computer products in the classroom, and no linking of teacher evaluations to standardized test data. Finnish students achieve top-tier results in the global PISA tests, and fluency in multiple world languages, with shorter school hours and radically less homework and tutoring than in both the U.S. and high-performing Asian nations.
Finnish experts point to several factors as highly important: the very high quality of teachers hired, the professional respect and autonomy they are given, educator focus on collaboration, the reverence in which teachers are held by society, and the national focus on authentic learning, not on drilling for high-stakes standardized tests.
Although Finland has much less poverty and cultural diversity than the United States, the nation has strongly out-performed culturally-similar nations that follow different educational strategies, and Finland’s population size and demographics are similar to a number of American states, which is the level where much U.S. education policy is determined.
Have you looked at Finland as a case history of authentic education reform and efficiency? And what should the United States learn from Finland?
It is a good example to study. But again I think we do best if we find the best teachers we can and let them decide what works best for their kids, and if it does work, support them and get more teachers like that.
21.) Best Education Reforms: What are the most promising education reforms you support, and what is the best evidence for them?
The KIPP schools are the reform model I know best. I covered this in detail in my book Work Hard. Be Nice. That is my best evidence for them and the several regular and charter public schools that use similar methods. It is all about picking great principals and giving them the power to lead.
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Great questions by Meredith. Thanks for providing Matthews answers. Answers to questions 2 and 18 are interesting.
“2.) Parent Responsibilities: Would you support the idea of public schools strongly encouraging and helping parents to: be directly involved in their children’s education; support their children with healthy eating and daily physical activity; disconnect their children from TV and video games; and read books to and with them on a daily basis from birth through childhood?
I do support that idea, but I strongly reject the notion, believed by many, that if the parents do not fulfill their responsibilities then the schools cannot be blamed for bad results. Great school can take the place of parents in major ways, and instill not only learning, but great character.
18.) Global Tests: American public schools score near the top of the international PISA tests, except for those schools with high concentrations of poor students. What do you think this means?
That’s easy. Family background is the most important factor in determining achievement. We need to do more to compensate for the drag of poverty”
Can’t have it both ways. “Great school can take the place of parents in major ways” and “family background is the most important factor in determining achievement”.
Oh, and great schools CANNOT take the place of parents. Period.
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“Oh, and great schools CANNOT take the place of parents. Period.”
So true. Institutions and programs cannot take the place of a family. This is why, as much as I support much that Dr. Ravitch advocates and as much as I agree that the agenda that the reformers put forward will do little to improve education or close the achievement gap, I am skeptical about the idea that more programs, e.g. arts instruction, universal pre-school, even universal pre-natal care will solve the problem either. Those might be things that all children should have, but they aren’t going to get a child to school ready to learn. The dissolution of the family is the tragedy that neither schools, programs nor any governmental institution can adequately address.
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Wait a minute! We do nothing because a child’s family is dysfunctional?! No, we can’t fix everything, but that doesn’t mean we don’t try. No child chooses to be born into poverty. No child chooses to be born into a dysfunctional family. Let’s try to give them the tools to choose a different reality.
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Hello, I am James Meredith’s co-author William Doyle. In the discussion above, some people have mixed up James Meredith’s comments with other people’s comments. Mr. Meredith has no ties to any education group and does not endorse specific policy proposals. What he does endorse is a vigorous, evidence-based national debate about how to improve American public education, and he challenges parents and teachers to ask these 21 questions of politicians and education officials:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/06/12/james-meredith-asks-21-tough-questions-about-school-reform/
Thank you!
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